Strundu'ul
by Gwynfael
Summary: Those men born with the soul of a dragon are destined to be great, but those who attain one through their own strength can forge their own destiny. A try at a realistic self-insert.


**Strundu'ul**

A Skyrim self-insert Tale

Chapter 1: Awakening

Cold. That is the first impression I get when I awaken. The second thing I notice is the man in a distinctly Roman armour shaking me awake.

"You alive there?"

I try to say something but my lips can barely move, even less form a coherent answer – damn, how close to death am I?

"C-cold."

A word escapes my quivering lips. Cold, feverish, close to death – that's what I am.

Oh and almost naked, as I notice – in fact I am wearing nothing but my underwear – what the hell?

A second man enters my field of view.

"Damn, what happened to you? Did those damned marauders get to you as well? Well, no wonder with the civil war going on."

Shaking his head he turns to his companion. "Let's get him on the carriage and wrap him in some cloaks – once we reach Helgen we can get him to a healer."

"Makes sense."

The last thing I note are the two men hauling me up, as my vision begins to blur and blacken.

My second awakening is much more pleasant, that much is certain, I feel warm and can smell the distinct fragrance of meat being cooked upon an open fire.

" Ah, The Eight be praised, you are awake."

I turn my head to see a woman standing beside the bed I am lying in. From her looks in her late forties, the most startling thing about her is her attire – an orange robe with a yellow hood.

And wait – The Eight?

…

Like in The Eight Divines? Am I suddenly in Skyrim?

Slowly the men who found me come to my mind – they had been wearing imperial uniforms, had they not?

Ridiculous. Must be a LARP or something after all Occam's Razor dictates...

Trying to clear my head I stand up, only to fall back down. Damn.

"Oh my, it would seem you are not completely healed yet! Please, allow me."

The woman reaches out with her hand towards me and mutters something.

Suddenly a weak golden light appears, first in her palm, then slowly it extends towards me, enveloping my body.

Life. Healing. Vitality. I feel refreshed, my previous state completely forgotten! With restored vigour I stand, almost jump, feeling like I could take on a dragon!

…

On and...

Crack.

That my dear friends, now apparently behind the fourth wall, is the sound of Occam's Razor being shattered.

With a hammer. On fire. Repeatedly. While the Greybeards chant in the background.

Ruefully shaking my head I turn to the priestess – that's what I assume she is – and see her smiling at me.

"Well, I can see you are all better now."

Her smile fades.

"You were in a terrible shape when they got you here. Had I not been here you would almost certainly have died. And to think that I had to come here because of the executions... Truly, the Divines work in strange ways."

Her smile reappears.

"When lives have to be lost due to the foolishness of men, some others get saved in return. Now their deaths have a greater meaning than just punishment."

With a thoughtful look in her eyes she turns towards me.

"The Divines certainly do favour you, but who are you?"

Huh. Now that is a curious question. Well no, it is actually pretty simple, but how should I answer?

I must admit, I never really liked my name – it is too plain and I share it with my father – and if I give myself a bad ass new name no one will know the truth to complain, right?

"My name is Gwynfael"

Yes, here in Skyrim I can begin anew. Yes. The options are there. Thu'um. Swordsmanship.

The Daedra. The Aedra. Magic. The Wheel and The Tower...

A thoughtful smile comes to my lips, a blissful nostalgia overcomes me, my eyes glaze over as I look in the distance.

The small room in which I am completely escapes my vision. As does the priestess. I see all of Skyrim before me as I remember seeing it on the map screen playing the game.

From above I look down on it.

It could be mine.

It will be mine.

Yes. The Civil War. Brothers fighting each other. I could unite them.

The Jagged Crown.

The Eye and Staff of Magnus.

Wuuthrad.

The Divines favour me? Good.

It will take time, no question, but the option is there, undoubtedly.

And the dragons are returning, are they not?

So the objectives are:

Unite Skyrim.

Push back the dragons.

_Erase the Thalmor._

Take up the name of Stormcrown.

Easy right?

Heh, screw Hubris, it is time to tempt fate.

After all from nothing comes nothing, right?

I focus back on the room and the priestess, and speak once more louder and clearer, as if proclaiming my new name to the world, proclaiming it's meaning and challenging existence itself:

"Gwynfael Pendragon."

AN:

Well this is my first try at a fanfic and it is a self insert... I always knew there was something wrong with me, to choose that option of all things, but well...

Anyway, a few words concerning the story:

While I am a fan of the Elder Scrolls, there were some design choices in Skyrim that I do not agree with. As such they will be altered in my fic. Before you begin to worry too much let me explain:

As immersible as Skyrim tries to be, it is still a game and as such suffers from limitations to allow for smooth and casual playing. I intend to make the setting grittier (but not much darker, I rather dislike Grimdark) and tone some aspects down while enhancing others, so expect magic to be rarer but more complicated and powerful. Vampires and Werewolves will be more fearsome and actually cursed (also no Vampire Lords – screw Dawnguard, but something else instead...), Dragons will show why exactly they once ruled the world and I intend to expand the lore behind the Hagravens and the Forsworn of the Reach.

Also I promise no sudden power-ups, I am an ordinary human in my late teens, no superhero with a thousand skills – I merely have ambition and a mind full of usually useless trivia.

As such I hope to create a realistically paced story which is actually a story and not a mary-sue wish-fulfillment. If I stray too far from that path I sincerity ask you to make me know.

One last thing: English is not my first language, so if you notice mistakes make me know as well.

Thank you for reading, and if you could, please leave a review to let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Gwynfael


End file.
